The dust of this season's Premier League has settled, and the final rankings have come out.
The champion, of course, is Chelsea. Unbeaten with 31 wins and 7 draws, the final score was exactly 100 points! Although it is not as good as last season’s 106 points to win the championship, it can still rank second in history!
At the same time, this is also the second consecutive season that Chelsea has remained unbeaten, with a total of 76 unbeaten games!
The longest unbeaten record in the five major leagues has been raised to an unattainable height by Pan Yi...
Runner-up, Leicester City, has 23 wins, 12 draws and 3 losses, with 81 points. This dark horse finally went dark and won the best ranking in the history of the team. It was also the first time in history that it could participate in the Champions League!
Third place, Manchester City, has 20 wins, 11 draws and 7 losses, with 71 points. Manchester City's performance this season was not ideal, but they still secured a spot in the Champions League at the last minute.
Fourth place, of course, is Arsenal. 19 wins, 13 draws and 6 losses, totaling 70 points. Wenger once again led the team to enter the Champions League and win the fourth place!
Fifth place, Tottenham, with 19 wins, 9 draws and 10 losses, with 66 points. This youth team was ultimately affected by the loss of Kane and fell behind in the sprint stage of the season. It will only be able to compete in the Europa League next season.
Sixth place, Manchester United, also has 19 wins, 9 draws and 10 losses, with 66 points. Manchester United lost their qualification for the Champions League under the leadership of Louis van Gaal. It is said that Manchester United is no longer prepared to renew the contract with Van Gaal, but has set its sights on Mourinho, who is idle at home.
The teams ranked further behind are Southampton, West Ham United, Liverpool and Stoke City.
At the bottom of the standings, Aston Villa has been relegated early, with 3 wins, 8 draws and 27 losses.
Perhaps the only thing they are proud of this season is that they once tied with the league champion Chelsea 0:0 at their home court...
The other two relegated teams are Norwich City and Newcastle United.
Needless to say, Norwich City is a famous Premier League lifter, and Newcastle United, before Oil Dad took over, was indeed a team that fought for relegation every year and was squeezed into the middle of the pack at most...
Then there are the individual awards officially judged by the Premier League.
The best coach among them is the least suspenseful.
Although Ranieri led the civilian team Leicester City to have a fantastic season, it was still slightly inferior to Chelsea, who remained undefeated and won the Premier League championship with a dominant performance.
Therefore, Pan Yi won the Premier League Best Coach Award!
In terms of best player, the Premier League official also awarded this award to Leicester City's Algerian winger Mahrez out of balance considerations!
However, this is actually partly because Chelsea has so many players who have performed well this season!
Lukaku, Harry Kane, Hazard, B seat, Kante, Van Dijk, Courtois…
This more or less also leads to a bit of splitting of votes when selecting the best player.
The polo king did have the most glorious performance of his career in Leicester City. To be honest, winning this award is not a big problem.
This is a bit like the 2014 World Cup. Although the German team won the championship in the end, many players in their team performed very well, which resulted in a less favorable position in the selection of the best player.
On the list of data that does not require selection, Chelsea players undoubtedly dominate the list.
On the scorer list, Lukaku also won the Premier League Golden Boot with 29 goals!
This number is one less than last season, partly because his strike partner Harry Kane also scored 25 goals!
Harry Kane also won the Silver Boot.
Ranked third is Leicester City's top scorer Vardy. His number of goals is 24, only one less than Kane.
Fourth is Manchester City's main center Aguero, who scored 23 goals.
Fifth is Leicester City’s Mahrez, who also scored 17 goals.
At the same time, the polo king is also the only one in the top five who does not play at the center position. This also shows how good he feels in shooting even on the wing this season!
Next are some old acquaintances from the Premier League, Giroud, Ighalo, Defoe, Sanchez, etc.
In the assists list, Hazard also retains the title of assists king.
His total assists this season is 20!
This is a very exaggerated number, 5 more than the 15 last season.
This has a lot to do with Pan Yi's use of the 3-5-2 formation this season. In many cases, Hazard, who serves as an attacking midfielder, can pass the ball forward more comfortably;
The high efficiency of the two top shooters Lukaku and Harry Kane also ensured that Hazard could steadily make the cake and deliver it to their mouths.
Ranked second is Tottenham's Eriksen with 13 assists.
Then there is Payet of West Ham United, Tadic of Southampton, David Silva of Manchester City, and so on.
Of course there is Leicester City's Mahrez, who also sent 10 assists.
A relatively eye-catching double-double of 17+10, coupled with his carrying performance in a civilian team like Leicester City, is what gave Mahrez the confidence to win the best player.
There are also some statistics that do not have titles such as "Golden Boot" and "Assist King".
But if there are, most of them belong to Chelsea.
For example, the "tackle king" is Kante.
He made 176 successful tackles in a season, which was higher than the second place's 115... more than an order of magnitude!
The "King of Interceptions" is also Kanter.
He ranks first with 160 steals, and second is Arsenal player Koscielny, who is a central defender.
This shows how important Kanter's "ball-grabbing machine" is to Chelsea.
Among the best teams officially selected by the Premier League, it was divided between Chelsea and Leicester City.
This best lineup is still a 4-3-3, with Lukaku, Harry Kane and Vardy as the forwards.
Obviously, in order to prevent any of these three forwards from being selected, we can only form a three-forward formation.
The three midfielders are Hazard, Kante, and Mahrez.
The defenders from left to right are Marcos Alonso, Van Dijk, Morgan, Azpilicueta.
Goalkeeper: Courtois.
The selection of Leicester City captain Morgan is not very unexpected.
After the 32-year-old left Nottingham Forest and came to Leicester City, the Nottingham Forest manager accused him of "making a retrograde choice";
But this season, he quickly established his position as the leader of the defense and ensured that the team's defense was stable and did not concede goals, which is a reassuring anchor.
More importantly, he is a team leader and a good role model for the players.
It is also under his leadership that Leicester City has maintained a good locker room atmosphere and achieved the best results in history.
In terms of the best young player, Harry Kane also defeated his teammates Ake, Mbappe, Abraham, Goretzka and others to win this award!
Although Ake and Mbappe have performed very well this season, especially Mbappe who scored 13 goals in limited playing time;
But after all, Harry Kane firmly occupied the main forward position in Pan Yi's 3-5-2 system, and he also played very steadily, contributing 25 goals.
So, after losing to seat B in the selection last season, Harry Kane finally won this award!
more importantly……
He has already won five championships in one season with Chelsea, and is still heading towards his sixth and seventh championships...
(Harry Kane in a parallel world sheds tears)
——
"This is a critical moment, we can't let the chain slip!"
On May 20, which was an ordinary day in most cases, Pan Yi was seriously admonishing his players in the pre-match tactical meeting.
Why do you say "in most cases"?
It's because in the distant Dragon Kingdom, today may be another "Valentine's Day".
As for why today is Valentine’s Day, it’s just because of the homophony in Chinese.
As we all know, in the Dragon Kingdom, any day can be Valentine's Day.
Valentine's Day on February 14th, White Day on March 14th, Dragon Kingdom Valentine's Day on Chinese Valentine's Day, Women's Day on March 8th, 520... plus a girl's birthday.
Of course, if a girl wants to, 11.11, 12.12, 6.18... can all be Valentine's Day.
In short, there is no Valentine's Day that you can't celebrate unless you think of it.
Pan Yi could only be thankful that his girlfriend was Italian. Apart from celebrating the annual Valentine's Day, there weren't too many days to think about.
Because of this, he can also concentrate on his work and prepare his players for the upcoming FA Cup final.
Now that the five crowns are in hand, there are only two finals left this season. Of course, Pan Yi wants to remind Chelsea players to be more cautious and not to relax.
There are some negative cases here.
A very typical example is Dortmund from the Bundesliga.
Why haven't they won a championship for so many years? Sometimes it's not because the opponent is too strong, but because you don't live up to expectations.
Fans often joke: "Dortmund never loses its footing."
What this means is that Dortmund often suddenly loses its footing at critical moments in league and cup matches and quickly loses its lead.
Sometimes, they can win the championship as long as they defeat an opponent who has no desire in the last game, but they often lose such a great opportunity.
This was actually an important reason why Bayern later became so outstanding in the Bundesliga.
In the Premier League, there is obviously an example, and that is Arsenal.
For all gun fans, the three signs of spring are: 1. The temperature rises; 2. The days get longer; 3. Arsenal withdraws from the title race.
In history, among the teams that have been at the top of the Premier League for a long time and then were reversed and lost the championship, Arsenal has the most times and cumulative days.
In the 2022-2023 season, Arsenal went from leading Manchester City by 8 points to finally falling behind Manchester City by 8 points and losing the championship. This was accomplished in the sprint stage of the league using the results from April to May.
Of course, Pan Yi reminded me that he still believes that his disciples will not fall behind like Dortmund or Arsenal.
It’s not just that Chelsea are in good form and don’t have any tendency to fall off;
Another part of the reason is that their opponent Manchester United in the FA Cup final has circumstances that are favorable to Chelsea.
That is the issue of Van Gaal's coaching position.
Rumors about Manchester United's senior management contacting Mourinho have been circulating for more than a day or two. Some reporters have even firmly claimed that Manchester United has confirmed Mourinho's joining and has notified current coach Louis van Gaal.
No matter how strong Van Gaal's psychological quality is and how high his professional quality is, as a man who only wants to make a name for himself in the Premier League and Manchester United, he will definitely be disappointed with such a decision.
Incidentally, this will more or less affect Manchester United's preparations for the FA Cup final.
It can be said that this is also indirectly helping Chelsea.
"We played two games against Manchester United in the league this season, winning one and drawing one. We drew with them 2:2 in the away game, and we only came back at the last minute to win at home."
"This also means that we are not 100% sure of winning Manchester United. They have stars like Rooney and Martial, and they have the opportunity to change the game."
"Therefore, in this FA Cup final, I ask you to give me a 120,000-point spirit. I want to see you show your best state and performance, and I want to see the FA Cup after the game. Cup winner’s trophy!”
The players also nodded and clapped.
At this time, Pan Yi doesn't need to say anything, the players all understand the importance of this game.
Not to mention the seven crowns, even the triple crown is only the second time in the history of English football.
The only team that could win the treble of the season before was 99 Manchester United.
And this time by defeating Manchester United to win the FA Cup, it is an important step for Chelsea to complete the second treble in the history of English football, and then move towards the unique miracle of seven crowns in the history of world football!
Coupled with the bonuses for various championships that Abramovich has offered early...
It can be said that whether it is for fame or profit, Chelsea players will definitely try their best!
As for the tactics of this game, what Pan Yi emphasized the most is still the need for a stable start.
In the two games against Manchester United in the league, whether it was home or away, whether it was a win or a draw, Manchester United scored two goals.
This shows that Manchester United's offensive firepower is still quite good this season, and Chelsea also needs to improve defensively.
Pan Yi also played these four goals on the big screen several times in the conference room to remind his players that similar mistakes must not occur again.
Then, Pan Yi talked about Manchester United’s tactics:
"Manchester United's starting lineup may have some changes from the last two times we met."
"The biggest change is that Rashford may be allowed to start."
"He is a player with great speed and great skills with his feet."
"Since Van Gaal has such a forward, he is also likely to focus on defensive counterattacks in the FA Cup final and use Rashford's speed to attack us."
"So we just need to steadily control the game, control the rhythm, and then suppress the opponents and not let them have the opportunity to easily counterattack."
Marcus Rashford is known as "Master La" by people in the world, and this "master" refers to Van Gaal, the old master.
This future British star was born in October 1997 and is only 18 years old now. He is also a native of Manchester, a member of Manchester United's youth training, and a man of Manchester with a good reputation.
On February 25 this year, Rashford made his first-team debut for Manchester United in the second leg of the Europa League round of 32 knockout match between Manchester United and Denmark's Midtjylland Football Club at home.
He scored 2 goals for the team in this game, helping Manchester United defeat Midtjylland with a score of 5:1.
Four days later, in the 27th round of the Premier League, Manchester United played against Arsenal at home. Rashford made his Premier League debut and scored 2 goals, helping Manchester United win 3:2. Beat Arsenal.
As he was named Manchester United's Player of the Month for February, Rashford gradually took over the main position in Louis van Gaal's team.
He made 11 appearances in the remaining Premier League games, scoring 5 goals and providing 2 assists.
Due to his outstanding performance, he, together with the 20-year-old Martial, has become the future hope of Manchester United's forward line, and has also become an important support for Van Gaal now.
There is a long-standing joke in football that when Rashford scored to help Manchester United win in the Manchester City Derby, Fan Shuai helped Rashford do his homework on the sidelines in order to express his gratitude... …
After all, I am still only a high school student, so I do have a lot of homework to do!
“In terms of formation, Manchester United has also been using 4-1-4-1 recently, but because they focus on defensive counterattacks, their playing style is different from Guardiola’s 4-1-4-1. "
"In the defensive midfielder position, it is usually their keeper Carrick, and the center forward is Rashford. Rooney will support Rashford in the attacking midfielder position, while Mata and Martial I’ll be on both sides.”
"As for another midfielder, it could be Fellaini or Herrera, but it doesn't matter much."
"The key point is to keep an eye on the two '1's in their formation, then it won't be a big problem!"
Guardiola's 4-1-4-1 can be said to be a variant of 3-2-4-1, while Van Gaal's 4-1-4-1 is 4-2-3-1 or 4-3. -3 variant.
Compared to 433, 4141 is similar to retracting the two forward wingers to the full forward position, thereby becoming more flexible, and the offensive and defensive ends are also more balanced compared to 433.
In terms of player configuration, this formation is also similar to 433, with distinct requirements for the characteristics of the players:
First of all, in terms of defense, there is basically no difference from other four-back formations. The two central defenders should have strong defensive ability and physical fitness, while the two full-backs need to have both solid defense and offensive attributes. Skill, when the team switches from defense to offense, it can quickly intervene and launch a quick counterattack.
As for the midfield, as the essence of this formation, the requirements for the characteristics and abilities of the five midfield players are naturally not low.
Perhaps at first glance, 4141 seems to be a deformation of 4231, just placing a defensive midfielder in front of the front midfielder, but judging from the positions in the actual game, the two people in the middle are more like "player No. 8" "Central midfielder, not the role of "No. 10 player" as an attacking midfielder.
In other words, as the dual core of the team, these two people must have the characteristics of being able to attack, defend, play and rush.
When the team launches an attack from the center, the two can have a clear division of labor. One of them will step in and become a pseudo center (Rooney), and the other will be responsible for passing the ball (Herrera or Fellaini).
In this way, the two can not only serve as the starting point of the attack, forming a good response to the forward through overhead balls or ground passes, but they can also directly threaten the center through long shots, breakthroughs, etc. when the center is completely blocked. When the opponent is defending, the two central midfielders must also recover in time and change into 451 to assist the midfielder in completing the task of defensive interception in the midfield.
As for the role of the defensive midfielder, it is mainly responsible for the defensive tasks of the team's midfield. It is mostly played by some "sweeper" or "beast midfielder" type players. This is also a link required by most formations.
It's just that this formation is equipped with only one midfielder. Therefore, in addition to having strong B2B attributes and strong physical fitness, this midfielder must also have excellent defensive coverage in order to become one man against ten thousand men. Mokai's huge barrier shoulders the important task of advancing, attacking, retreating and defending.
Therefore, for defensive midfielders, it is necessary to try to choose the kind of strong players who can fly up and down and never tire, such as Kanter.
But there is no Kante in the current Manchester United team, so we can only use the aging Carrick to solve this problem.
And this is actually the biggest shortcoming of this conventional 4-1-4-1 formation.
First of all, in terms of tactics, 4141 is different from other formations in that frontcourt pressure is one of the key tactics they must play.
Once the momentum and intensity of frontcourt pressure cannot be exerted, or the full-line retreat is not timely enough, it often means tactical failure. This is due to the shortcomings of the 4141 formation with a single defensive midfielder.
Because if the opponent easily breaks through the forward line and enters his own half, relying only on the weak lateral coverage of the only single midfielder, it will be difficult to block the connection between more than two offensive players in the opponent's center. In this way, the opponent can easily You can break through the defensive area of the midfielder and directly face your own last line of defense, thus posing a threat.
In other words, if you want to make good use of 4141, pressing on the spot in the frontcourt is the most critical factor. After all, when the team that mainly plays this formation is in a defensive posture, the single midfielder is destined to become the focus of the opponent's attack. In order to ease the defense of the single midfielder Under pressure, the five players in front of him must "advance before retreating". They used to press and grab to limit the opponent's ball.
This not only prevents the opponent from successfully hitting the ball into the single defensive midfielder zone, but also creates opportunities to deal a fatal blow to the opponent at any time if he successfully seizes the ball while harassing. Therefore, how strong the frontcourt's pressing ability is, how long it can hinder the opponent's quick counterattack, and how efficient it is from heavy pressure during offense to retreating defense, these will all become the key to the success or failure of this formation.
But the current Manchester United team is still difficult to achieve a truly effective frontcourt press, and this pressure will eventually be passed on to the midfielder.
Because of this, Pan Yi is still very confident in focusing on this "1".
In addition, since the main essence and core of the 4141 formation lies in the midfield, but the midfielder lacks an attacking midfielder role similar to that of 4231, both the wing midfielder and the two central midfielders are more important than the attacking midfielder. Stay back.
In this way, if these players themselves do not have the advantage of speed and precise long-passing skills, the counterattack will be very slow, and it will become a positional attack.
In addition, because the forward in the formation is alone in the frontcourt for a long time, it is easy for him to be surrounded and isolated by his opponents. Once the forward does not have the ability and physical fitness to strangle defenders for the ball, the success rate of counterattack will be greatly reduced.
It can be said that Chelsea's Lukaku is the most suitable candidate to play this center.
As for the young Rashford, his body has not yet grown strong. He can use speed to counterattack, but if he wants to be a fulcrum, he is still a little green...
After analyzing Manchester United, Pan Yi also announced his starting lineup.
Still a standard 3-5-2.
Forwards: Mbappe, Lukaku.
Midfielder: Cancelo, Hazard, Kante, Lingard, Azpilicueta.
Defenders: Ake, David Luiz, Van Dijk.
Goalkeeper: Martinez.
This arrangement is mainly to improve the team's speed and control the speed of the team quickly.
Especially Cancelo, Lingard, including Mbappe starting the game with Lukaku to form one high and one fast (double fast?), all for this purpose.
Moreover, Lingard will have a buff bonus when facing his old owner. I believe Lingard will perform better.
As for the goalkeeper position, we will continue to use the second-door Martin.
After all, the starting goalkeeper in the League Cup and FA Cup this season is Martin, and he also completed his task well in the League Cup final.
Now that the FA Cup has reached the final, we can't win him again at this time.
This is also equivalent to a reward for his performance this season, and is also conducive to the unity of the locker room.
"Okay, that's all for today's meeting."
Finally, Pan Yi clapped his hands and said, "Let's go out to have a meal together. I'm treating you today!"
The players who were slightly nervous suddenly shouted happily.
"Boss, where are you going to eat?" Arteta asked.
"Eat a burger!" Azar raised his hand, but Pan Yi glared at him, stuck out his tongue, and retracted his hand.
Then David Luiz raised his hand: "I don't have any objection to where you go to eat, but...can you stop going to my restaurant?"
Kanter poked David Luiz in the waist: "Brother, you are a good person..."
(End of chapter)
